Automotive TechnologyAS DegreeCertificate of Achievement
- Community of interest
- Industrial Technologies & Agriculture
- Award
- AS Degree
- Program code
- 01323.01AS
- Department
- Automotive Tech
- CIP code
- 47.0604: Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician.
- TOP code
- 0948.00 - Automotive Technology*
Program detailsAward, code, department, CIP/TOP
Program Snapshot
- Community of interest
- ITAG Industrial Technologies & Agriculture
- Award
- AS Degree
- Program code
- 01323.01AS
- Department
- Automotive Tech
- CIP code
- 47.0604: Automobile/Automotive Mechanics Technology/Technician.
- TOP code
- 0948.00 - Automotive Technology*
Next Steps
AS Degree — expand to learn about this award
The Associate of Science is typically awarded for Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) and Career Technical Education (CTE) programs. Like every Butte College associate degree, it has two parts: a general-education curriculum that gives you a broad base of knowledge, and an academic program where you specialize.
About General Education. GE is an integrated program of learning designed to foster intellectual curiosity, cultural understanding, critical thinking, creative reasoning, oral and written communication, and the capacity for ethical reasoning. By graduation, you'll have developed the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, apply quantitative reasoning, understand how the major academic disciplines ask their questions, comprehend diverse cultures and historical periods, and assess ethical problems — alongside the depth you build in your major.
Semester-by-Semester Map
Term 1
Class Schedules
course details
This course teaches students the fundamentals of electricity and electronics used currently in the Automotive industry, including semi-conductors and microcomputers. Electrical measuring devices, wire repair, circuits, schematics and practical diagnostic procedures are emphasized. Microcomputer inputs, processing, outputs, testing, and operation will be explained. Students will acquire the fundamental knowledge and skills to diagnose and service modern automotive electrical and electronic systems, with emphasis on advanced diagnostic routines needed to correct circuit anomalies such as shorts, opens, and parasitic draws.
General Education: Area 1A
about Area 1A
English Composition
Baccalaureate-level academic writing — expository and argumentative. The foundation for every other course you'll write in.
General Education: Area 2
about Area 2
Mathematical Concepts and Quantitative Reasoning
College-level mathematics or quantitative reasoning — the toolkit behind science, business, and informed citizenship.
General Education: Area 6
about Area 6
Ethnic Studies
The histories, experiences, and contributions of the four autonomous disciplines: Black / African American / Africana studies, Native American studies, Chicano/a/x and Latino/a/x studies, and Asian American studies.
Term 2
Class Schedules
course details
This course introduces the theory, operation, and repair in the areas of electrical/electronics systems. Battery function and diagnosis including hybrid vehicle battery function and charging are covered. Topics also include vehicle lighting systems, starting and charging systems, and the electrical accessories that function in a modern vehicle.
Prerequisite: AUT 3 (or concurrent enrollment)
Corequisite: AUT 7
course details
In this course students will develop and demonstrate the hands-on skills needed to repair automotive electrical/electronics systems. Topics include verification, diagnosis and repair of vehicle charging and starting systems, lighting systems, and electrical accessories, including hybrid vehicles.
Prerequisite: AUT 3 (or concurrent enrollment)
Corequisite: AUT 6
course details
This course introduces the theory, operation, and repair in the areas of base brake systems, anti-lock brake systems, and steering and suspension systems. Topics include: the application of Pascal's Law, disk brake systems and their related components, drum brake systems, anti-lock brake system operation and repair, suspension system operation and repair including electronic suspension and steering systems.
Prerequisite: AUT 3 (or concurrent enrollment)
Corequisite: AUT 21
course details
In this course students will develop and demonstrate the hands-on skills needed to verify, diagnose and repair vehicle systems, sub systems, and components. Topics include: brake systems including both drum and disc brake systems, Anti-lock Brake Systems (ABS), steering and suspension systems, and electronic steering and suspension systems.
Prerequisite: AUT 3 (or concurrent enrollment)
Corequisite: AUT 20
General Education: Area 1B
about Area 1B
Oral Communication and Critical Thinking
Baccalaureate-level oral communication and/or critical thinking — speaking with structure to a live audience, analyzing arguments, identifying assumptions.
General Education: Area 3
about Area 3
Arts and Humanities
How people and cultures, across time, respond to themselves and the world through artistic and cultural creative production. Visual and performing arts, art history, foreign languages, literature, philosophy, religion.
Term 3
Class Schedules
course details
In this course students will develop and demonstrate the hands-on skills needed to repair the internal combustion engine and related components. Students will learn the proper use of hand and power tools and test equipment used in the automotive industry.
Prerequisite: AUT 3 (or concurrent enrollment)
Corequisite: AUT 8
course details
In this course students study the theory and principles of operation of automotive Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems as well as engine cooling system operation and repair. Basic laws of heat transfer, refrigeration and compression/expansion of liquid/vapor are introduced.
Prerequisite: AUT 3 (or concurrent enrollment)
Corequisite: AUT 23
course details
In this course students will develop and demonstrate the hands-on skills required to diagnose, adjust, repair and maintain modern automotive Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and engine cooling systems. Students will use modern test equipment for diagnosis. Specific skills are developed by the use of special tools used in servicing and repair of automotive HVAC and engine cooling systems.
Prerequisite: AUT 3 (or concurrent enrollment)
Corequisite: AUT 22
course details
This course covers the theory of operation and service of alternative fuel and hybrid powered cars and light trucks. Topics include fuel tank and battery inspection service, regenerative braking systems, motor/generator and transmission, and fuel cell technologies. Emphasis is placed on safety precautions necessary when servicing hybrid and alternative fueled vehicles. Students will be working on and around the high voltage electrical system on hybrid vehicles. Due to the potential for electrical shock, students must demonstrate an understanding of electrical theory and safety by successfully passing the AUT 60 entrance exam with a score of 70% or more on the first day of class. Students who do not pass the AUT 60 entrance exam will be disenrolled from the course.
Term 4
Class Schedules
course details
General Education: Area 4
about Area 4
Social and Behavioral Sciences
The systematic study of people as members of society — cultural anthropology, cultural geography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology — and the methods these disciplines use to ask their questions.
Term 5
Class Schedules
course details
This course introduces the theory, operation, and repair of the ignition, fuel, engine management, and emission control systems on gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. This course is designed to help prepare the student to take the California State Smog Check Inspector and Repair Technician Licensing exams.
Prerequisite: AUT 3
Corequisite: AUT 31
course details
In this course, students will develop and demonstrate the hands-on skills needed to diagnose and repair the ignition, fuel, engine management, and emission control systems used in today's gasoline and diesel vehicles. This course will help prepare the student to take the California State Smog Check Inspector and Repair Technician Licensing Exams.
Prerequisite: AUT 3
Corequisite: AUT 30
General Education: Area 5
about Area 5
Physical and Biological Sciences
The physical universe, its life forms, and its natural phenomena — astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, oceanography, physics — taught alongside the scientific method that makes them work.
Career Connections
2-Year Degree Paths
Entry points students may pursue after associate-level study, technical preparation, or licensure pathways.
Example roles: 3
- Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor Vehicles
- Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment
- Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
4-Year Degree Paths
Roles that more often open up after transfer and a bachelor's degree.
No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the 4-year pathway for this program.
Graduate School Paths
Advanced roles commonly associated with graduate, professional, or post-baccalaureate study.
No locally mapped occupations in the current dataset are grouped into the graduate-school pathway for this program.
Local Job Market
Electronic Equipment Installers and Repairers, Motor VehiclesSOC 49-20969 nearby openings
Top employers in sample
- Trofholz Technologies 2
- Anderson Merchandisers 1
- Cinema West 1
- Eaton Corporation 1
- Mendocino College 1
Where the postings are
- Reno, Washoe County 2
- Sacramento, Sacramento County 2
- Mound House, Carson City 1
- North Sacramento, Sacramento County 1
- Penngrove, Sonoma County 1
Sample current postings
Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation EquipmentSOC 49-20932 nearby openings
Top employers in sample
- City of Chico 1
- Graphic Packaging International, LLC 1
Where the postings are
- Butte Creek, Butte County 1
- Thermalito, Butte County 1
Sample current postings
Automotive Service Technicians and MechanicsSOC 49-30231 nearby opening
Top employers in sample
- Pep Boys 1
Where the postings are
- Butte Creek, Butte County 1
Sample current postings
Posting counts come from Adzuna's index of US job boards, covering the last up to 90 days within up to 100 miles of ZIP 95965. Coverage and salary visibility vary by employer. Empty searches expand the radius and posting window before the section gives up.
Source Notes
Course sequencing is generated from the Acadia Program Mapper cache. Career groupings use local CIP-to-SOC mappings and BLS occupation data when available. Confirm education plans with Counseling and Advising.
Live wage data was not available from the BLS helper for the mapped occupations, so some pay fields may be blank.
Last generated 2026-06-12T23:18+00:00